Thirteen
by Abby -WCD
Summary: [thirteen shots in one]: Yagami Raito is a complex being. It takes a lot to describe him. And along with Kira, his inner killer, L and Ryuuzaki, there's a whole story of thirteen needed to be told...


Warnings: Some shots contain shonen-ai, angst, fluff, randomness, anger, fear...any of those, any combinations. And the shots _can _fit together, but they don't have to. And the LAST SHOT has spoilers for chapter 58 (thanks for the correction...I wasn't thinking straight when I posted this ). 

Disclaimer: ...I'm still wishing. Stupid lamp isn't working. WORK, RAITO FAIRY! D;

Thanks: To my beta, Abby. Mwhaha. And myself. Wow. Two Abbys beta-ed this. oo;

N/A: Finally being posted! Enjoy!

---

_Thirteen_

一【いち】

Ryuuzaki could see the killer Kira in Raito in the first moment they met each other.

There were two full rows of desks separating the two. But even with the distance, the detective of L could see the murderous rage riled up in Raito's heated stare. Rubbing his toes together so he could soothe this bare feet that were cramped all the way up onto the desktop, L began the exam in front of him. The whole of the test was pathetically easy, but Ryuuzaki knew better than to complain. Ordinary lives couldn't comprehend such matters as he could.

Bored with his work, L looked up to gaze at his Kira suspect again. The diligent student was busied away in his test, he paid no mind to the strange gawking kid. Raito knew anyone who was stupid enough to lose concentration during a college prep test had no business being in such a high up place.

But the ruffled boy interested Raito. The way the boy was apparently paying no mind to his exam and was chewing on his pencil top with ragged teeth, feet peeking off of the top of his desk as his toes constantly chafed one another caused Raito to occasionally turn to catch his fellow student's blank stare before he continued with his test. As predicted, the test was nothing. But everything nowadays was nothing for the unstoppable Kira.

Done with his test, Raito dropped his pencil to his desk, still feeling the stranger's stare on his back. Annoyed that such a nobody was watching him so intently, Raito tried to ignore the gaze, the engrossed set of eyes, as he pretended to check over his test, eyes quickly flying past his perfect answers. L continued to watch Raito, completely engrossed in Kira. L _knew_ that this boy had to be Kira. He knew that Kira would have the type of demeanor around him that told anyone who was near him that he held the direct power. Raito has that presence, that same type of essence surrounding his being as he feigned his test check to avoid L's gaze.

For the rest of the testing period, L stared. And Raito learned to hate the newly met stranger.

-

二【に】

"Yagami-kun? Would you mind if we played a game of tennis?"

Looking over to the sleep deprived genius, Raito sighed. Ryuuga watched the college student in front of him, black depths attempting to see past the boy's façade. But to the detective's disappointment, his suspect contained himself fully as nodded briefly, accepting L's stated challenge.

"Sure. It's been awhile since I've had a real match."

L watched Raito walk past his bench, an aura of superiority flaring from his figure with every step. L watched as Raito left him, watched him head to what L assumed was his house to retrieve his tennis equipment without saying a word.

Raising his fingers to his mouth, Ryuuzaki smiled. Kira was putting on quite a performance for him today.

-

三【さん】

"If I blow it…"

His surroundings were shadowed, covered with the stench of destruction and filth. Ryuuku gazed at the boy sitting of the demolished building's rotten floor, the Death Note clutched to the human's chest. The sweat falling down that boy's face didn't seem to fit the renowned killer. The shinigami knew something was out of place as Yagami Raito, who was the one and only Kira, remained sitting, lowered and worried. With his two jaune eyes, Ryuuku watched Kira grip the Death Note, fingers straining under the touch.

"Kira…will have to kill his own family."

Ryuuku saw it. Within that moment, Kira hadn't been sitting on the floor. Kira had disappeared for a brief second of time as the old Yagami Raito took over his mortal body once again, eyes partially closed in a hazy world of pain that the shinigami couldn't understand. A god of death could never understand the woe of killing a precious one. Especially not Ryuuku.

It only took another second for Kira to come back, for his half smile to smear Raito's sullied face and for his eyes to shine with a deranged delight.

Soon enough, Kira stood. And Ryuuku followed after him.

-

四【よん】

"One…"

Kira enjoyed counting the forty seconds his prey had left to live. It gave him a certain type of thrill that nothing else could give him; the count to his victim's end somehow held a holy spot in the killer's soul. Although he was an atheist, Kira knew this excitement could only compare to the rush of seeing the face of god. Which, in a sense, he had already done.

"Apple? Can I have an apple?" Kira looked over to his shinigami, eyes boring into the hideous creature without sympathy. He knew that a god of death deserved no pity. After all, their race_ killed_ for the expansion of their own lives.

"Fifteen…"

Ryuuku gave a strident whimper. Raito winced at the sound. Then, more unnerved than before, he continued his count.

"Twenty-five…"

"Apple now? I want five apples, Raito. Go ringo, go ringo goringo-!"

"Forty."

Raito looked scared. Kira, on the other hand, was overly amused.

"And Hoshino Yukata is now dead." Ryuuku looked over to the current Death Note possessor. Seeing the conflicted emotions staining that face, those huge, disturbed eyes along with a wicked grin, made the shinigami pause in his ranting. He waited for Kira to take over again, pools of yellow poisoning the better side of the boy.

With one deep breath, Kira blinked, causing his eyes to eventually lower in a way that Ryuuku thought was cool and sadistic. The two seemed to be ignoring the television blaring next to them, reporting the sudden death of the notorious ping pong player who'd recently been convicted of a serious felony. Ryuuku, feeling the time was right, asked his question.

"Do you think any of the people you kill are really innocent?"

Kira turned to stare at him. His cold eyes lit up with a new smile as he got up from his chair slowly, hands taking their time to carefully replace the Death Note in its hiding spot.

"Didn't you want an apple, Ryuuku?"

-

五【ご】

"Sugar isn't healthy for you, Ryuuga. Maybe you should cut back."

L stared blankly at the boy in front of him. Yagami Raito, L's only prime suspect in the Kira Case, was harping at him about his eating habits. And the spork in Raito's hand didn't help his image. It only added to the stupidity of Ryuuzaki's reasoning.

"Yagami-kun, I don't think you should be concerned of what I consume during the course of a day."

"Like _hell_ it doesn't concern me! I'm not going to be cuffed to a sick or overweight man when his metabolism decides to stop running on Broadband!" Raito then pushed the utensil he was holding towards the mute detective again, his free hand motioning to the plate of greens sitting in front of L. Ryuuzaki stared at the salad for a brief second before turning his abnormally wide eyes back up to Raito, the dark circles under them making him appear as if he hadn't slept in numerous days.

"But Yagami-kun, I don't like vegetables."

"They're **good** for you, Ryuuga. Now eat."

"But—"

"EAT!"

L pouted. Though he didn't mind losing as much as Kira did, the exceptional detective didn't enjoy the task too much. Reluctantly taking the spork from his chained companion, Ryuuzaki gave his best glare to the stubborn college student before slamming the teeth of his utensil into one of the green leaves. Lifting the salad component, L gulped before taking the bite, gagging immediately after his intake. Raito looked slightly amused.

"Tastes healthy, doesn't it?"

"Tastes _gross_ and _slimy_. Your chances of being Kira have gone up for this, Yagami-kun."

"And I just added a year back onto your life, Ryuuga. Now continue."

"Double digits."

"A whole decade."

The evening continued. And in truth, Ryuuzaki saw his percents of Raito's guiltiness going down as the boy continued to smile, causing even the sheltered teenager to have his emotions aroused.

-

六【ろく】

"Yagami-kun, do you think that Kira is stereotypical?"

"In some cases. He stereotypes that fact that once someone is a killer, he's always a killer—"

"Not like that. I'm wondering if he has a set of standards he wants the people of the world to follow."

"You're trying to compare Kira of the new age to Adolph Hitler?"

"In this contemplation, yes. What are your thoughts?"

**Of course I have standards for those who live in my utopia.**

"From those he's already killed, I doubt it. He hasn't slaughtered a mass of one race or religious group…just killers."

"Really, Yagami-kun? Are you sure there haven't been any stereotypical factors in his killings?"

"Not that I've seen."

**I won't allow the narrow-minded to survive.**

"But, Yagami-kun…Kira has been killing multiple conformists that refuse to adapt to the changes in the world. They're killers too; just a select group in the faction."

"But he hasn't killed _only_ that group, Ryuuga."

"That's true."

**And I won't give mercy to those who take my reign as a joke.**

"Are you suggesting that the slaughter of those Kira-nonbelievers was actually a formulaic move on Kira's part?"

"I'm just opening the slots of possibilities, Yagami-kun. It's better to have the mind exposed to all of the angles when working on a case."

"Point taken. I'll keep it in mind."

**And I won't let those who dig into my life to exist much longer, L.**

**-**

七【しち】

Biting his thumb, L gazed at the screens in front of him, his attention fully absorbed on the metallic television pictures. In one box of his wall of monitors, a teenaged boy was fumbling with the buttons of his shirt at a frontal view, his crystals eyes cast towards the floor. On another screen, the same boy was seen from a side angle, showing his expression, his lowered gaze, his honey-nut hair dangling in threads in front of his face. And on yet another TV, he was pictured from the back, his shirt now coming off of his lean, muscular body, revealing the soft skin hidden beneath his school uniform.

Currently, on all of L's screens, there was only this boy. And L just watched.

"Raito! Your dad wants to talk to you!"

The yell from off-screen caused the teenager on the set to sigh, his taunt, upper torso moving with his exhale. Instead of responding to the call, Raito fell onto his bed gracefully, his hands moving to remove his slacks. Ryuuzaki watched the boy, his raccoon depths gazing past the television monitors. Once Raito's pants were fully off, Ryuuzaki inspected him from numerous angles, large eyes making sure not to miss a single detail. It was only when Raito slipped under his covers that a partial sigh escaped Ryuuzaki's lips, causing L to blink himself back into the detective he was. L, forcing his stare to thin, glared at the genius on his wall of screens, the bite on his thumb only becoming harder. The bulge in his pants wasn't a mystery to L. He _knew_ this boy was the cause.

"Kira…"

Ryuuzaki slipped back into control for one more second, admiring the beauty resting beneath the sheets of his bed. His eyes softened, becoming almost child-like as he stared at the boy, his suspect, and all of the suspicion left Ryuuzaki in a heartbeat.

"Yagami-kun…"

-

八【はち】

"MisaMisa wants to go on a date, Raito-kun."

The girl looked yearningly up to her boyfriend, not seeing the disgust or annoyance hidden within the creases of Raito's handsome face. Ryuuzaki, with suspicious eyes underlined by sleep deprivation, watched the two from only a few feet, the chain connecting him to the younger man jingling at the slightest movement. Misa waited for her Raito to grant her wish and to frisk her out of the awful hotel room, leaving the bothersome detective behind, but she was sadly disappointed when the genius instead turned his back on her, mouth moving only slightly to respond to her badgering.

"Not today, Misa."

"So when? Tomorrow? The next day? The day after that?"

Raito's brow furrowed deeper. Ryuuzaki watched curiously, the fork for his cake dangling from his lips.

"Not until this case is closed."

L's eyes widened for a second. Misa also felt a wave of shock and slight denial sweep through her system before she jumped to her feet, adrenaline pumping in her veins from the swift movement. L didn't bother to watch her, but instead kept his eye on Raito. The circles bruised under his dark eyes deepened for a second as the detective stared, mind abroad. Misa scowled to herself, but only pouted on the outside.

"But Raitoo, you KNOW the Kira case is going to last forever—!"

"Then we'll have to wait forever, won't we?"

Ryuuzaki smiled. MisaMisa whined.

And to himself, Kira gave a slick grin that slipped past his lips.

**Forever.**

-

九【きゅう】

Within the past few months, Ryuuku had seen the changes occurring in Raito. At first, when the boy had found the Death Note and had first killed, he had admitted to being scared. But now, the raging murderer was ready in an instant to kill any man, any man at any time, conscience unaffected as he slaughtered person after person after person. Personally, Ryuuku thought the changes were amusing. And as long as the boy fed his boredom, there was reason to keep him around.

"Ryuuku, you're awfully quiet today. You're not even begging for an apple." Raito gave the shinigami a side glace from over his novel, his soft eyes filled with a light curiosity. It only took a moment for the normally loud death god to be aroused by the mention of apples, his mouth dropping open to reveal a drool of saliva.

"Mhmm…apples…Ryuuku wants apples…"

"That's more like it. Now, I have a question."

Still in his hazy world of apple paradise, Ryuuku took a moment to register what Raito had said to him. Forcing himself out of his fantasy, the god of death leveled his two pits of yellow with the human in front of him, keeping the murky depths locked with Raito's darker orbs.

"A question?"

Kira nodded. Paying attention now, Ryuuku sincerely forgot about his favorite fruit for a full second of his life. An odd silence kept the room from conversation. It was only when Kira spoke that that quiet curse was broken.

"How is a shinigami born, Ryuuku?"

There was a smile. Before long, Kira found himself looking into the face of a real monster, something he'd never really seen before. Ryuuku's whole face was beaming, filling with delight, and Raito didn't miss his chance to wince.

"They're not born, Raito. They're killed."

Kira waited for the shinigami to continue. Taking his cue, Ryuuku added on to his previous statement.

"They must be killed by another god of death."

Lifting an eyebrow, Raito stared at the monster in front of him, slight grin curving his lips. With a soft chuckle that Kira refused to cut off nervously, Raito muttered under his breath to the beast, "There must be a bunch of them running around in your world, then…"

Ryuuku laughed. Kira hardened his gaze, eyes becoming slits from under his halo of hair.

"No, Kira. There are other conditions for one to become a shinigami."

"Like?"

Those yellow pitchers sickened Raito. Ryuuku saw the change again, and smiled.

"You'll find out soon enough, Raito."

-

十【じゅう】

"Ryuuzaki? Are you asleep?"

"No, Yagami-kun. I'm a very light sleeper, and I don't require very many hours of rest at a time."

Raito peered over his shoulder, his sleepy eyes blurring the image of his chained companion lying next to him in the bed. The detective was facing away from Raito, the back of his white shirt being the only thing Raito could clearly make out. The teenager eventually was able to piece together with his sleepy mind that L had his knees pulled to his chest, and that L had his pillow positioned so his head laid at an angle. Raito took a moment to flop himself over, and Ryuuzaki followed suit, dragging his molded pillow and wrapped legs around with him. When silence followed, Raito shut his eyes again in an effort to fall asleep. But his attempt was to no avail.

"Do you need a lot of sleep, Yagami-kun?"

Raito kept his eyes closed, even though he felt the older man brush closer to him. The killer in the teen refused to let any type of anxiety be visible. Even as the bed continued to creak as L continued to move nearer, Raito kept his voice calm and steady.

"I usually get about seven hours a night if I can. But I'm capable of living on a mere five if I must."

"Five? That's impressive for a successful student such as yourself, Yagami-kun."

Raito felt a flit of fingers brush past his cheek, and then the wandering ligaments found their way down Raito's neck and arms...

"How many hours a night do you tend to get, Ryuuga?"

The fingers stopped for a moment. Raito held his breath, but kept himself leveled with the detective in front of him as he opened his sleepy eyes. L gave him a sort of loopy smile that he normally possessed when he spoke about justice. Kira wouldn't let that facial expression unnerve him.

"Two at most, Yagami."

"Then what do you do for the rest of the night?"

It took a second for the raccoon eyed boy to respond to that question, and his dark depths even trailed off away from Raito's face for a split second. Once the detective had apparently found the answer he had been searching for, his gaze fell back onto Raito, hand retreating for the time being.

"I find a way to amuse myself."

-

十一【じゅういち】

"Oh my god! Have you _seen_ Raito lately?.!"

The latest gossip was around. With attentive hearing, L sat on his favorite bench in the middle of the college grounds, his hands pretending to be busied away with his laptop. Three girls close by were taking their turns in squealing, their high pitches reaching a level even L couldn't stand. The detective held in a shudder as he continued to eavesdrop, careful to not draw stares from those passing.

"Yeah, I just saw him in my last class! He's absolutely _stunning_! I think he's in love!"

L wouldn't let himself look surprised, even though the shock running through his system was quiet apparent.

'_Kira…is in love?'_

"OH! I wonder who it could be! Maybe it's that modeling chick he's been hanging around for the past couple of days…"

"Misa-chan? I thought he was going out with Takada…"

"Hmm…I'm not sure. Raito wouldn't be a player. He's too good for that."

"Maybe he's happy because he's getting away with seeing two girls! That sly, hot…!"

But L didn't hear anything past that. Closing his laptop and tucking it safely under his arm, Ryuuzaki gave a small chuckle, his dark eyes shinning earnestly and his lips forming a small smile.

"Raito-kun is in love, huh…?"

-

十二【じゅうに】

Ryuuzaki had never liked to take showers before. He'd always found himself as the bath-type, since in the bathtub he was able to get work done while relaxing comfortably, unlike the simpleton shower that required him to stand up with his legs straight during the course of his cleaning.

Raito, on the other hand, hated baths.

Being the neat and clean genius who hated willowing away time that he could spend doing something productive elsewhere; Raito had never understood the meaning of "good soak". Showers were always his method of bathing, no doubt about it. Showers were quick, efficient, and easily taken.

"Yagami-kun, let's take a bath."

"No. I refuse to get into one of those tubs with you again, Ryuuga."

"But _Yagami-kun…"_

"What?"

"…I'm dirty."

"Then shower."

"But I can't work in the shower."

"I'll work for you from the hallway. Then we can switch."

"But a bath—!"

"—is out of the question. Shower, or be dirty."

"We take a bath together next time, then."

"Whatever you say, Ryuuga."

-

十三【じゅうさん】

Raito watched carefully at what he knew were L's final seconds of living. There, in front of him, in his very arms and in his very lap, the notorious detective that the surrounding men had been following since the beginning of the Kira case was slowly convulsing, his very air being sucked out of him. Raito watched as L's eyes began to dim, as L's life began to fade away, and a soft spot was struck inside of the killer. Raito couldn't let it show, but he felt it. There was something about this whole event, something about this whole ordeal that caused his heart to quench, his mind to freeze. Raito's own breath was drained out of him as L's form began to become limp, his eyes just beginning to close.

''_I've finally won.'_ Kira was smiling inside, even though the pain in his heart was too much for him to handle.

'_Then why does it feel like I've lost?'_

Smiling, Kira looked down at L, at the dying detective that was at his mercy in his arms, his dark eyes refusing to betray him. L didn't see the conflicting emotions in the boy above him; instead, he only saw what he had wanted to see. He saw the killer Kira smirking back at him in death, that cruel smile smearing his final moments of logical thought.

'_I…wasn't wrong…just as I thought—'_

A slight smile stained Ryuuzaki's face before he winced, his eyes closing fully. The tears that never fell remained locked behind those closed depths. Raito looked desperate for some type of response out of his closest thing he'd had to a friend in his final moments. But when Ryuuzaki just died, Raito was left with nothing.

No emotion.

"WAA—!"

Raito screamed. He forgot how to do anything else. The others watched, not nearly as devastated. Eventually, after Raito had cried his throat out, Kira took action and set the beginning of his new reign into motion, duping the others into searching for the shinigami while he himself found his new Death Note. The cold, black cloth under his touch made the killer feel alive once again, and the Death Note allowed Kira to forget the long-gone L for the time being.

But Raito knew he'd never forget L. The detective that shared a piece of his life, the genius who was able to smell the Kira in Raito…

For right now, Raito reserved a small part of his heart for Ryuuzaki. And Raito kept him there.

---

N/A: YAY. Erm. Yes. This was my ficlet of playing with random writing styles. It was amusing, to say the least.

Personally, my favorite shots were four, five, seven, ten, and thirteen. I _really_ needed to write something like the last shot. The way he'd died was just tearing me apart.

Well, if you enjoyed, I hope you leave a note. Also, tell me which drabble you enjoyed the most. Maybe I'll write a furthering on the topic. O.O!

Mshkay. See you next time. ♥


End file.
